Session Partner: World Meteorological Organization

Climate change is urging global structural shifts in the energy systems infrastructure. Across the sector, there is a need for building the climate resilience comprehensively, with emphasis on both the extant and emerging sources of energy, along with addressing vulnerabilities through the whole value chain. Managing disaster resilience of the energy assets, renewable energy microgrids, and other disruptive innovations will underpin the resilience of energy infrastructure in the future. This also becomes crucial considering that energy is at the heart of the solution to the climate challenge (IPCC. 2022). With increasing threats to energy security due to extreme weather events and climate trends, actions for resilience, mitigation and adaptation are needed on aspects concerning the disaster resilience of infrastructure.  

Key stakeholders are developing the narrative around resilience of energy infrastructure, for instance, IEA recommends policies that enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy; IAEA promotes the potential of nuclear as an alternate source of clean energy, which is more topical and urgent, given the prevailing geopolitical circumstances and climate crisis; and the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) collaborates with academia in fundamental research and with industry to transition technologies to market.  

Such narratives should anchor on climate science and the use of the best available data for characterizing how the climate affects a region or sector, as promoted by WMO.  Reliable, high resolution and timely climate information is a crucial input for decisions intended to promote adaptation to climate change and minimize impacts associated with climate-related hazards. WMO is also promoting impact-based forecasting to save lives, assets and livelihoods through increased access to early weather warnings and risk information.

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), with its overall mandate to promote the climate and disaster resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems in support of sustainable development, invites collaboration with like-minded organizations to support the global transition to cleaner and resilient energy pathways. 

This COP27 side-event will be a strategic opportunity to convene a dialogue among key stakeholders in the energy transition space to deliberate on a multi-perspective and holistic approach to the climate and disaster resilience of energy infrastructure. This could be the first of a series of dialogues and knowledge gatherings on this critical topic.  

This forum will be a soft launch of the Community of Practice on Resilient Infrastructure for Energy Transition under the foundational guidance of WMO, IEA and IAEA along with CDRI. The dialogue is expected to yield pointers which will influence the programming of the key stakeholders in this space for promoting energy transition that is climate and disaster resilient.